The Island
by Arthur11
Summary: Twenty-year-old Tobias Eaton moves from the big city of Chicago to Martha's Vineyard, an Island off the coast of Cape Cod to escape an abusive past. There, he meets a girl he can't seem to figure out and discovers a life he never thought he could have. Modern Day - Characters may seem a bit OOC
1. Chapter 1

**Tobias POV **

The ferry horn blows loud and clear and the cool evening air nips at my face as I step onto the dock of Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard. As a 20 year-old, I guess I'm a little young to be living on your own in a brand new place, especially when that brand new place is thousands of miles away from your closest family member. But when your 'family member' is like my dad Marcus, then thousands of miles away is a lot safer. Marcus abused me all my life in our little home in Chicago and my mom left us when I was nine; so I decided to drop out of the University of Chicago and move to a vacation island and pray to never see Marcus or Evelyn again. I don't even have a car, my stuff got shipped to the small house I hastily bought a few weeks ago, and I have no idea where it is, only a piece of paper with my address on it. I've got my backpack slung over my shoulder and I feel the soft, cool breeze blow through my jeans and black sweatshirt; I should have dressed a little warmer.

People rush past me while I take in the view of Oak Bluffs and breath in the foreign smell of the ocean. Shops, restraunts, and cafés croud the streets and people walk on the small sidewalks while motorcycles and cars roam the streets. I know that most people come here in the summer, and seeing how it's only early May, there aren't many people here; just the ones who live here year round.

My thoughts interrupted by a sharp pain in my foot and Iook up to see a small teenage girl trying to hold back laughter. She's got her blonde hair in a messy French braid and eyeblack is smudged on her rosy cheeks. Her black Nike sweatshirt is too big for her and I notice her black softball pants and socks that she's wearing over small but muscular legs. She's got a longboard tucked under her arm with a softball backpack on her narrow shoulders, with two bats sticking out from the sides. Her cleats are covered with dirt from a softball field, as are her small, calloused hands. Her eyes are big and are the same color of the ocean behind me; a stormy blue. She smiles a crooked smile, not showing her teeth.

"Sorry! I wasn't watching wear I was going," she says in a voice that doesn't sound the least bit sorry. Her smile turns into curiosity as she looks up at my face.

"Are you lost? You look lost; I know this island like the back of my hand, I can show you around," she says, giving me a small smile. I'm surprised by her offer, considering I'm a complete stranger and she's just a child; well a teenager.

"Yes, actually. I'm looking for this address and I've got no clue where it is," I say to her, a bit sheepishly, handing her the slip of paper with my address. I see her big eyes widen and she looks up at me and smiles a crooked smile.

"This is right next to my house in the village. You actually _bought_ a house in the village? Usually people just stay in those for the summer," she says with curious eyes.

"You live there," I say simply which gets me a dazzling smile from the girl.

"That I do! Come on neighbor, I'll show you around!" She says, and without waiting to see what I say, she turns and starts walking off towards the town, her board still tucked under arm. I sigh a heavy sigh and speed walk to catch up to the small girl.

"So, what's your name? I'm Tris," Tris asks. Back home, everyone called me Four, because that was my football number, but that seems pretty stupid now and no one here will know Marcus anyway.

"Tobias Eaton," I say.

"My parents were friends with an Eaton once," she says thoughtfully, "But I never met them." I just nod.

"How old are you?" I ask curiously.

"I'll be 18 at the end of March, I'm a senior in high school. What about you? You look about 20," she says, as we turn a corner and waves to someone across the street.

"Yeah, I'm 20. Dropped out of college, from Chicago," I say, and I surprise myself, I'm telling a stranger about myself, something I never do. We pass a tall hotel and enter a village of crowded houses and small, narrow streets. All of the houses are narrow and old looking, most are colorful and truly look like gingerbread houses. I follow Tris as we walk further into the large village of colorful houses and pass a park area with a large Cathedrial. Finally, we reach one of the smaller houses and Tris stops. I look up at the house. It's white and navy blue with a small porch and a rocking chair with boxes piled up.

"Here you go, home sweet home," Tris says brightly. "Let me change and Caleb and I can comeover and help you unpack." Before I can deny her help or ask who Caleb is she runs to the house next door and enters the tall, narrow, gray and light green house, slamming the wooden door behind her. I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my dark hair and, for reasons I wasn't sure of, I smiled, before unlocking the front door with the key that I was sent last week and walking into the house. I explore the house a little and find a small kitchen and a living room with large windows, a small couch, small T.V. and circular coffee table. There's a tiny bathroom next to the kitchen and I notice an outdoor shower as I look out the small window. The upstairs has two bedrooms, both with a bed, a night stand, and a dresser. There's a bathroom with shower, a bathtub and a large mirror. The person I bought this house from left all their furniture becaus they rented it out during the summer and didn't have a use for it once they sold the house so they just left it for me. I then hear the opening and slamming of the front door then a voice I don't recognize.

"Beatrice, you can't just barge into a stranger's home without at least knocking on the door," says an agitated, male voice. Who's Beatrice?

"He isn't a stranger, Caleb. And besides, he's our neighbor and I'm not barging in. I knocked, he just didn't answer," I hear Tris, or_ Beatrice_, say. And with that I walk down the stairs to see Tris in sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt, barefoot, moving boxes from the porch to my living room, humming an Imagine Dragons song. Her dirty blonde hair is tied in a messy bun and her cheeks are rosy from where the eyeblack was. I then see a tall boy with light brown hair and green eyes who looks to be a little older than me come in holding one of the bigger boxes into the house, he must be Tris' brother, the one she called Caleb. I just kind of stand there, shocked that a girl I met a half hour ago and her brother are walking in and out of my house, helping me move in like they've known me for years.

"Tobias," Tris says as she sets down the last box and starts to open it with a red pocket knife she pulled out of her pocket, "Considering the fact this your stuff, it'd be nice of you to help unpack and tell us where you want it to go."

"Oh right, sorry," I say walking over and grabbing a box filled with books and start to stack them on the bookcase near by. Tris takes a box of bed sheets and a comforter and heads upstairs to make the bed. Caleb and I are left in awkward silence.

"So Tobias, you need a job?" Caleb says as he opens a box of clothes and sets it aside.

"Yeah, I do actually. I've got a small amount of money from my last job in Chicago but it won't last forever," I say sitting down on the couch. I don't have many possessions or personal items, just clothes and books, so we've already finished unpacking.

"I own a restaurant on Circuit Ave that Beatrice and all her friends work at, it used to be my parents' place before they passed a couple years back, but there's a job opening and you're gonna need the money, the island's expensive, so would you like a job?" Caleb asks and holds out his hand.

"I would love one, thank you so much," I say and shake his hand with a grin. Just then, Tris comes back down the narrow steps, jumping to the floor from the third step up, and smiles a crooked smile.

"Did he give you the job?" She asks as she sets the now empty box with the other empty ones and leans against the wall.

"He did," I say, giving a Caleb a raised eyebrow. He just shrugs. "She knew you would need the money and that we needed the extra help around the restaurant. You start tomorrow at 11:30, Bea'll show you the ropes," He says with a smile. With that they bid me a friendly fairwell and walk over to their house and I watch them from the window. Caleb ruffles Tris' hair and she elbows him in the ribs. They start pushing and shoving each other until they reach the front steps of there porch. Tris runs inside and comes back a few seconds later with flip flops on and tosses Caleb a wallet and tye start to walk towards town, most likely to find something to eat.

Not feeling very hungry and being too tired to do anything else, I head upstairs and into the bedroom that Tris made the bed and collapse into the white sheets and soft, black quilt. I strip of my clothes, leaving my self only in mid-calf socks and boxers and close my eyes. It's only a few minutes of listening to the new sounds of Oak Bluffs before sleep takes me.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning I wake up at 8:00 and realize that I've got no coffee, or any food at all. I sigh and throw on sweatpants, a t-shirt, and my sneakers and grab my wallet from my nightstand. I walk out my door and onto the small street in front of my house. Just when I realize I've got no idea where I'm going, I see a small, blonde figure come jogging towards me. She's only in a sports bra and running shorts, with her long hair tied into a ponytail. Her body glistens with sweat and she's got a band around her arm where her phone is strapped to it, and she's listening to music and I see the muscles in her legs and stomach flex as she runs. She comes to a stop in front of her house and pulls out the earbuds from her ear and unstraps her arm band from her arm and sets it on her porch. She then catches sight of me and gives me that crooked smile and waves me over.

"Hey, you going into town? Mind if I throw on a t-shirt and come with you? I need an ice coffee," she says in between breaths as she takes a sip from a water bottle that was sitting on the porch.

"I don't mind, plus I need someone to show me around. I've got no idea where I'm going," I say with a small smile.

"Right. I'll be out in one minute, just wait and then I can show you around a bit," she says before she dashes up her front steps and runs through her front door, slamming it shut behind her, effectively waking up Caleb who yells a few choice curse words at Tris, who only laughs and yells some back. A minute later she comes out in an Imagine Dragons t-shirt, and a backwards baseball cap on her head.

"You like Imagine Dragons?" I ask as she leads me down the road.

"I love Imagine Dragons. My friends Christina and Marlene and I went to see them in March. They were amazing," She says, looking down at her t-shirt.

"Yeah, I love their music," I say as I shove my hands in my pockets. She nods in agreement.

"So tonight you, me and the rest of my friends work until 8:30, and we were planning on stealing beers from the bar in the restaurant and walking down to the beach and hanging out there for awhile," she says casually," And since you need some friends, you're coming with us."

"I don't want to make friends with a bunch of high school students," I say playfully but she just rolls her eyes.

"You _won't _be. Uriah's older brother Zeke and his girlfriend Shauna will be there and they're your age. Besides, we'll only be 'high school students' for another month," she says, putting air quotes around high school students. I just chuckle.

"Fine, I'll meet your friends. But I need to find a grocery store to buy food and toilet paper and stuff," I say.

"There's a Stop & Shop in Edgartown. Caleb is taking you on Monday, while I'm in school," she says.

"Sounds like you've got it covered," I say and she laughs. I then remember something I heard Caleb say yesterday and I become curious.

"Yesterday, Caleb said something about you parents passing away," I say softly, not wanting to pry information out of this girl I barely know.

"Oh yeah, they passed three years ago, when I was 15 and Caleb had just turned 20. They were in a car accident back on the mainland," she says with a surprisingly calm voice.

"Oh, I shouldn't have brought it up. Sorry," I say quietly. She just looks up at me and smiles softly.

"No it's fine. I mean it was hard at first, but I had Caleb and he's really good looking after me and I knew that neither of them would want me to grieve them for too long; I still have my life to live. My dad always said: 'Use the past to shape your future and live in the now,'" she says.

"Your dad sounds like a wise man," I say putting a hand lightly on her shoulder, her touch sending a shock of electricity up my arm.

"He was," she says simply, looking out over the harbor as the the first ferry of the day let's people onto the island. We reach the cafe and people greet Tris like she's known them forever, and she probably has. They ask who I am and Tris introduces me as her, and I quote, 'Hot new neighbor Tobias, who just moved here from Chicago.' I felt myself blush as she said 'hot' and immediately scolded myself for acting like a teenage girl. The girl at the counter sees Tris and gives her a dirty look, which Tris returns with her crooked smile.

"Molly, I didn't realize you worked here," Tris says.

"I didn't realize you were such a slut; hanging around with boys much older than you are," the girl- Molly -says, eyeing me with a smirk. Tris just rolls her eyes.

"He's my neighbor and I'd hardly call showing him where to find coffee 'hanging around';it's much more sexual than that," she says with sarcasm dripping from her voice. "I'll take a medium black ice coffee by the way," she adds, handing Molly a five dollar bill. Molly just scowls and gets Tris her change and coffee. I order a large black coffee and follow Tris out the door once I'm handed my drink and change from a pissed off Molly.

"Who was _that?_" I ask Tris, who just sips her coffee calmly.

"That was Molly, she goes to my high school. As you can probably tell, we hate each other. We always have, ever since she moved to the island in 6th grade," she says, letting venom into her voice and she shudders.

"She seems awful," I say and Tris smiles at me.

"I like you Tobias. You agree with the people I hate and have good taste in music," she says. I smile back and she starts to show me around Oak Bluffs. She points out her favorite shops and cafés, places she's worked, her brothers' restaurant, the ice cream place that her and Caleb go to every Tuesday night in the summer, and the Flying Horses Carousel where you can try and capture the brass ring (I had no idea what she was talking about and she didn't elaborate).

We stop at the liquor store and I buy pack of beer and a gallon of milk, using the fake I.D. I got in college. Tris looks at me with respect as I tuck the I.D. into my wallet.

"Impressive," she says and I shrug.

"Going to college for a year does have it's perks," I say back which earns me a laugh.

We make it back to our houses and she tells me to get ready for work at 11:30 and bring extra clothes for tonight at the beach, saying something about strip truth or dare. So, at 11:30 I meet Tris at the from of her house and I take in a deep breath. I'm not one, to hit on girls that are younger than me, especially high school girls I just met, but Tris looks beautiful in her jeans and work t-shirt, with her dirty blonde hair falling over her shoulders and down her back, shining in the sun. You can tell she has no idea how gorgeous she is, but doesn't really care and doesn't really try, like she's surprised you bothered to look at her in the first place.

"Tobias what are you staring at?" Tris asked looking at me with curiosity. I'm snapped out of my daze and realized that I had been staring at Tris longer than socially acceptable and fought a blush that was creeping into my face.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," I say with a smile. Tris raises her eyebrow and laughs.

"Well, you're going to make us late and then Christina will start to get suspicious as to why I'm late with the new boy," and with that she turns on her heels and walks in the other direction towards the Divergent Restaurant, whistling as she walks.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for such a short chapter! R&R**


	3. Chapter 3

I follow Tris as she quickly weaves her way in and out of pedestrians that walk on the sidewalk. Seeing that she's only 5'2 it's easy for her, and seeing that I'm a good foot taller than her, I'm constantly saying sorry as I step on people's feet or bump into shoulders. She finally dashes down an alley and I run to keep up with this girl. Tris stops at a door and uses a key she digs from her backpack to unlock it.

"After you," she tells me as she holds the door open for me, smiling. I enter her brother's restaurant, Divergent, and the first thing I notice is the colors. The restaurant is divided into 5 largest sections with different color schemes and labeled with a neon sign hanging on the wall. There's a section labeled Erudite where all the chairs and tables and the wall are different shades of blue. There's a red and yellow section, with the words Amity painted on the wall (with the words 'a.k.a. ketchup and mustard written below in a messy handwriting; no doubt Tris). There's a black and white one labeled Candor with a picture of Judge Judy hanging on the wall with with a mustache drawn on it with red sharpie. There's a gray section labeled Abnegation with plain tables and chairs and simple decorations on the wall. The last section is all black with crazy pictures of just about everything you can think of that's related to either sex or drugs hanging on the wall. The only item that isn't black in this section is a bright orange sign that says Dauntless, hanging on the black wall. There's a bar with a shiny black countertop and glossy black stools and the bartender is covered in tattoos, who waves at Tris as she walks through the tables and into the kitchen.

"So, what did you think? Pretty cool right?" Tris says as she sits on the counter and picks up someone's half empty beer bottle and takes a sip.

"It's amazing! Who came up with that?" I ask.

"My parents did, about 20 years ago. You can usually tell they type of person from where they choose to sit. The stoners usually go for Amity," Tris says thoughtfully as she takes another sip. Then the beer bottle is taken out of her by Caleb, who takes a sip before walking off into the back room, probably his office. Tris scowls and flips him off as she slides off the counter and leads me to a locker room in the back.

"Here you can put your things in this locker and then I'll introduce you to my friends and then I'll show you the ropes. But if you've ever worked at a restaurant before than I really don't need to show you," she says as she shoves her backpack in a locker. She then walks over to a box in the corner and rummages through it for awhile until she finds what she's looking for. She pulls out the same gray t-shirt she's wearing, except the one she's holding is much larger than the one she's wearing.

"Here's your uniform," she says tossing me the t-shirt and walking out of the room, leaving me to change.

* * *

Eight hours later, I'm sitting on the counter of the kitchen with Tris as she sips a can of diet coke and I sip a beer that she stole from the fridge.

"Your friends are nice," I say to her, thinking of Marlene, Will, Christina and Uriah who I met today. I also met Uriah's older brother Zeke and his girlfriend Shauna, and they were great too. It was nice to actually talk to someone my age instead of the crazy 18 year-old I'd been talking to for the past 24 hours.

"They're great," she says, "You still coming to the beach with us?"

"If I'm still welcome," I say, taking a sip of beer.

"Of course you are. Now come on, it's almost 8:30 we should get our stuff and meet the others, they're in the locker room." We meet everyone in the back room and they're all changed out of their jeans and Divergent t-shirts into sweatpants and sweatshirts. Tris quickly goes over to her locker and pulls out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt from her backpack and quickly strips of her old clothes and puts on her new ones. I do the same, praying that no one notices the scars on my back as I quickly pull my t-shirt off and put a new one on, also putting on a black sweatshirt.

"Someone go make sure that Caleb stays in his office while Tobias and I get the beer from the back," Tris says and she grabs my hand and leads me to the storage cooler behind the kitchen as Christina heads to Caleb's office with Will. We grab as many six packs as we can carry and meet the others in the alley behind Divergent. They all take a six pack and start to walk towards wherever the beach is, Tris and Christina singing some song in the front while Zeke and I make up the back, talking about sports. Once we're at the beach, everyone sits in a circle while Will helps Tris start a fire.

"Is this legal?" I ask, opening a can of beer.

"What? Eight underage people sitting around a bonfire drinking stolen beer? I don't know. Will, you're the smart one, is this legal?" Uriah asks. Will smirks.

"Of course it is, Uriah. It was Tris' idea and Tris never does illegal things," Will says sarcastically, earning him a hard whack on the head from Tris.

"Can we just play already?" Marlene asks, impatiently.

"Play what?" I ask.

"Truth or dare?" Christina says.

"Me first!" Uriah says, "Tris truth or dare?"

"Dare."

Zeke whispers something into Uriah's ear which causes him to smile.

"Go for a swim in the water. Naked," Uriah says, with a devilish smile. I almost choke.

Tris looks unimpressed and just gives Uriah and a raised eyebrow.

"Fine. Just don't take my clothes, Caleb will get really pissed," she says and gets up and runs off towards the water. You can only see her silhouette in the moonlight as she takes of her clothes and runs into the water. Everyone cheers and laughs as Tris splashes into the ocean.

"God Damnit!" We here Tris yell which causes us to laugh.

"What's wrong?" Christina yells.

"Something just bit my foot!" She yells as she runs out of the water and slips her clothes back on. She runs over to us, soaking wet, the salt water glistening on her wet hair and she's shivering like crazy, but she's still smiling like a mad man as she takes a spot next to me.

"Zeke, truth or dare?" Tris asks as she wraps her arms around herself, obviously freezing. I take off my sweatshirt and hand it to her.

"It's okay, I don't need it," she says, her teeth chattering.

"You're shivering like crazy, just take it." She hesitantly takes it and slips it over her head.

"Dare of course," Zeke says confidently.

"I dare you to go skinny dipping in the fountain in the park across the street," Tris says as she uses her pocket knife as a beer opener. Zeke scowls.

"I already did that and I got arrested for it," Zeke says. Tris just shrugs and smiles her crooked smile. Zeke swears under his breath and yanks off his shirt.

"Shauna truth or dare?" Zeke asks smirking.

"Dare."

"Dare you to make out with me," he says. Shauna smirks and takes her sweatshirt off which causes everyone to laugh and Uriah throws a pebble at Zeke.

* * *

An hour later, Tris and I are the only ones fully clothes and everyone's a little drink from the beers we ran out of 10 minutes ago.

"I think I'm gonna go home guys, I've got a game tomorrow and then there's that damn dance tomorrow night," Tris says standing up and brushing off the sand.

"Yeah, I'll probably go to," I say, as I stand up. Tris smiles and we both bid our farewells and start off towards our homes.

"Behave you two!" Christina yells which causes Tris to scowl and yell unladylike words back which only causes me to chuckle.

"So what's this dance tomorrow night? Prom?" I ask her.

"No prom is in two weeks, this is just some stupid spring fling dance that Christina is making me go to," Tris says as she kicks a pebble.

"I never liked school dances either," I say.

"Yeah, they're dreadful," she says and runs a hand through her hair, still damp from the ocean. "I still have to get a dress, too. Christina's gonna kill me," she says with a laugh. She then turns to look up at me and I look back down at her.

"Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?" She asks me.

"Nothing," I say.

"Do you wanna come to my softball game?" She asks, eyes bright.

"I'd love to," I say.

"Awesome, it starts at 12 but I have to be there at 10, Caleb can give you a ride," she says as we come to a stop in front of her house. She smiles up at me and takes her backpack off to give me back my sweatshirt but I hold a hand up.

"Keep it, looks better on you anyway," I say with a smile. She laughs and puts her backpack back over her shoulders and wraps her small, muscular arms around my waist giving me a small hug. Before I can react, she pulls away and smiles that crazy, crooked smile and runs up her front porch steps.

"Bye Tobias!" She yells before the front door slams shut behind her.

"Bye Tris," I say quietly before making my way over to my house.


	4. Chapter 4

I wake up the next morning to rock music blaring from the house next door. I look out my open window and see Tris in her room in a sports bra and sliding shorts reading a book on her bed, singing along to the music blaring from her speakers on the windowsill.

"Tris!" I yell and she looks up and sees me and puts her book down with a smile and she turns down the music a little.

"Hey Tobias," she says with a wave.

"What are you listening to?" I ask, slightly annoyed that I've been woken up.

"Tobias, please don't tell me you haven't heard of Queen before," she says, her smile suddenly in a frown.

"Queen?" I ask, giving her a questioning look.

"Oh my god, I'll be right over," and with that she slams her window shut. I shake my head to myself and make my way down stairs and sit on my couch. Not a minute later, Tris comes in through my front door with her softball uniform thrown on over the sliding shorts and sports bra I saw her in a minute ago.

"Tobias Eaton! Have you been living under a rock for the past 20 years? How the hell have you not heard of Queen?" She exclaims.

"I've heard of them, just never listened to their music," I say with a smile.

"That's just a crime and I'd invite you over to come listen to Queen with me, I really would, but I've got a softball game to be at. So maybe before Christina and Marlene come over to get ready for the dance tonight you can come over and I can show you what you've been missing," she says as she races down my porch steps and shoves her feet in cleats, throws her softball bag over her shoulders and takes off down the street on her longboard.

* * *

At 12:00, I'm sitting next to Caleb on the bleachers next to the Martha's Vineyard team's dugout. I watch Tris as she runs across the field to shortstop with eyeblack smudged on her face and a worn leather glove on her left hand. She looks over to the bleachers and her face lights up as she sees Caleb and I sitting on the bleachers. We wave and she waves back before the umpire calls the first batter up and the game beings.

I watch Tris throughout the game with pride. She's amazing. She never let's a ground ball past her and catches all of the pop flies hit her way. She turns double plays and tags base runners out on second when they try to steal a base. She hits the ball every time, only getting out once when she hits a line drive to the outfield and is caught by the left fielder. Tris' team wins the game she runs over to Caleb when it's over.

"Hey, you actually came," Tris says to me as she gives Caleb a quick hug.

"Of course I did, you played great too," I say, clapping her on the bag.

"Thanks," she says and turns to Caleb, "I'm gonna pick up a dress for the dance tonight on the way home and then Tobias is coming over to listen to music before the girls arrive."

"You don't have a dress yet?" Caleb asks her with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope and don't tell Christina that either because I told her last weekend that I had one," she says and then she takes off on her longboard down the road to go find a dress.

"She's crazy," Caleb states.

"She is," I say and I feel my lips turn up in a grin.

* * *

"Can I see your dress?" I ask Tris. I'm sitting on her desk chair as she lounges on her bed, painting her toenails with dark brown nail polish. She's got her phone plugged into the speakers and it's playing, Somebody to Love by Queen, who I have to admit I like.

"Nope, it's a surprise," she says.

"A surprise?" I ask.

"Yeah, you'll see me tonight before I go," she says looking up at me.

"Are you going with anyone?" I ask and feel stupid for asking that question, why do I care?

"A couple people asked me, I don't really get why, but I said no," She says, not looking up from her toes.

"Stop staring at me," she says softly, "You're going to make me mess up my toes." I blush and avert my gaze to her room. It's walls are light blue and light gray with a cream colored bed spread snd pillows. She had old pictures hanging everywhere, some are recent where she's with her friends and Caleb. She's got some baby pictures, pictures with her parents, one of her and Caleb on snow covered mountains with skis on, and one of her when she was young with a softball uniform on. There are different posters of bands hanging over her bed and she's got a Boston College poster on the back of her door.

"You a BC fan?" I ask. She looks up at her poster and smiles.

"Well, I'm going to school there next year, so you could say that."

"You're going to college?" I ask with surprise. I never pegged Tris as the ambitious, college person. She laughs.

"For your information, I've got a 4.0 GPA and I got a full scholarship for softball," she says, "So yeah, I am going to college."

"Are you excited?" I ask.

"It's bittersweet. All I've ever wanted to do is to get off this damn island, nothing exciting happens here but I'm the only one of my fiends who think that. The only other person who's going to college in our group of friends is Will. I''m going to miss them so much," she says.

"College is awesome though, you'll love it," I assure her.

"If it's so awesome, why'd you drop out?" She asks with a smirk. I just shake my head song give her a glare. Just then, Christina bursts into the room holding a huge duffel bag and then scowls.

"Tris Prior, when will you start listening to regular music?" She says as she goes over to the speakers and unplugs Tris' phone. Then I realize that I didn't know Tris' last name, of all the things I've learned about Tris the past three days I've known her, I didn't think to ask what her last name was.

"That is regular music, Chris. It's _good _music," Tris states and plugs her phone back in. Christina just sighs and finally notices that there's someone else in the room.

"Hey Tobias, what are you doing here?" She asks me while unloading her duffel bag, reveling hair straighteners and curlers and makeup.

"We _were_ listening to regular music," Tris says, as she plops down on her bed.

"Well, he's going to have to leave, Marlene will be here any second and we have to start getting ready," Christina says giving me a pointed look.

"Fine, I'll go but I'll stop by before you leave for where ever this dance is to see you off," I say, standing up. "Where is it anyway?"

"In the park over there, under the little amphitheater thingy," Tris tells me. I nod and say goodbye before walking over to my house.

* * *

**Tris POV **

"You _so _like him," Christina says as she straightens a strand of my hair.

"Christina, I do not. He's older than me and I just met him, he's just fun to talk to. He's a good friend," I say exasperated by Chrsitina and Marlene, who just shake their heads.

"Then why didn't you say yes to any of the boys who asked you to go? And so what if he's older? It just makes it more romantic and dirty," Marlene says with a smirk.

"Those boys asked me before Tobias moved here, I said no because I didn't like those boys and I didn't want to go with them," I say, "You know, if Tobias is in his room, he can probably hear us talking, the window's wide open." Christina just ignores me and rolls her eyes.

"You don't even think he's hot?"

"I never said he wasn't hot, I just don't have feelings for him," I say stubbornly. I actually do have a small crush on him, but I'd never admit it to Christina and Marlene, they'd just find someway to make it awkward.

"Fine, you win for now," Marlene says.

"Your hair's done too, now we just have to do your makeup and you'll be done," Christina says and I groan as she attacks my face with makeup.

I look at myself in the mirror as Christina and Marlene touch up their makeup and fix their hair. I've got my hair straightened and pulled back in the front by small braids. I'm wearing simple makeup; mascara, eyeliner, and nude lipstick. I usually don't put earings in all of the holes I have in my ear, but for tonight I've got 5 diamond studs running up my cartilage. I'm wearing a scarlett, one shoulder dress that's tight around my body and goes down to just above my knees. Christina wanted me to wear heels but I refused, so instead she put me in silver gladiator sandals. I don't look pretty, but my hair looks shinier and my eyes more bright and I look like I've got more curves than I actually do, so I'm satisfied.

Once the girls are finished, we head downstairs and meet Caleb who takes a couple pictures of us and I take some of him before heading outside. Tobias was sitting on the rocking chair on his porch, reading a book and sipping a beer. He looked peaceful and relaxed, nothing at all like the Tobias I uaully saw, who always look on high alert. He must have heard us walking because he looked up and his blue eyes met mine, and he smiled. He set his book down and walked over to us.

"You look beautiful," he says, looking me up and down.

"I think beautiful is a bit over exaterated," I say. Tobias just shakes his head and frowns slightly.

"Oh Tris, come on. You look drop dead gorgeous; red is definitely your color. Now you and Tobias get together so I can take a picture of you," Christina says with a smirk. I roll my eyes and stand next to Tobias who looks down at me, instead of the camera. I then realize how tall Tobias is, or how short I am. I only just barely reach his shoulder, and if I were to give him a hug, my head would rest on his heart.

"Come on Tris, we'll be late," Marlene says and she takes my hand and drags me towards the park.

"Didn't they ask you to play the piano tonight, with that kid Robert singing?" Christina asks me as we walk.

"Only for the last hour, the DJ has our music with him and I'm just going to play some slow songs while Rob sings," I say causally.

"Why didn't you tell Tobias? He would have loved to come watch," Marlene asks.

"Exactly, he would have wanted to watch, and it's not a concert it's a school dance, he can watch me play during the summer," I say thinking about how I play the piano at the concerts they sometimes hold at the park during summer evenings.

"You're in a pissy mood tonight," Christina says.

"Yeah, well I've got a headache," I say deffensively.

"You've always got a headache, now come on and have fun tonight," Marlene says and with that we arrive at the dance and the girls find their dates to the dance, Will and Uriah. I walk over to the edge of the dance floor and stand around watching everyone dance. I hate crowds, I like hanging out with small groups and I hate dancing even more. Plus I've got a pounding headache and I'd much rather be at my house listening to music with Tobias than be here right now.

The next hour passes slowy and then I'm being called up to the small stage with the piano. The DJ hands me the music and I sit down and start to play before Robert starts to sing.

_Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry_

_You don't know how lovely you are_

_I had to find you, tell you I need you_

_Tell you I'll set you apart_

_Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions_

_Oh let's go back to the start_

_Running in circles, coming in tails_

_Heads on a science apart_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_It's such a shame for us to part_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_No one ever said it would be this hard_

_Oh, take me back to the start._

_I was just guessing at numbers and figures_

_Pulling your puzzles apart_

_Questions of science, science and progress_

_Do not speak as loud as my heart_

_Tell me you love me, come back and haunt me_

_Oh and I rush to the start_

_Running in circles, chasing our tails_

_Coming back as we are_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_Oh it's such a shame for us to part_

_Nobody said it was easy_

_No one ever said it would be so hard_

_I'm going back to the start_

People clap once we're finished and I look up from the piano keys. But I only see a pair of dark blue eyes and they're coming from across the park. He's leaning against a lamp post in running clothes and sneakers, sweat covering his lean, muscular body from a run. Tobias. He raises an eyebrow, as if questioning me _Where did that come from?_ I just smile and shrug as I turn back to the piano and play another song.

* * *

**AN: Tris' POV won't happen often but since Tobias can't really go to a high school dance, I had to use Tris's POV.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Tobias POV**

Tris heads off to school the next morning and I head to the grocery store with Caleb after we drop her off at school. She complained the whole ride about being too tired to go to school after her 'stupid dance' which only got her pointed looks and snappy retorts from Caleb. I had smiled from the passenger seat as I watched Tris' irritated face in the readview mirror.

"I didnt know Tris played the piano," I say to Caleb on our way back from Stop & Shop.

"Oh yeah, our mom taught us when we were young since she always loved to play. Tris was always better than me though, she's amazing with music, she loves."

"I've noticed," I say with a chuckle, thinking of how many times I've seen Tris listen, talk, or play music. I watched her last night as she played at her dance as that other boy sang. They were amazing together, and for some reason I felt jealousy bubble in the pit of my stomach. That is until I saw the boy who sang walk past my house later that night as I sat on my porch, holding hands with another boy. I then speant the rest of the night wondering why I had been jealous.

When we arrive back in Oak Bluffs, I carry my groceries into the house and put them away. I grab my wallet and sunglasses before taking a walk down towards the town. I enter some of the little shops with curiosity, not having places like these in Chicago. Before long, I start to get hungry and enter a cafe for a sandwich and a coffee.

When I see the girl working taking orders at the counter I do a double take. I would recognize that long, dark hair and tall figure anywhere. Lauren, my ex-girlfriend from high school. She must see me too because her eyes widen before sending me a flirtatious smile. My feelings for Lauren are conflicting. We broke up after high school because we were going to different schools but she's not very bright, or all that nice. I don't really remember why I went out with her, probably because I was a horny 17 year-old boy at the time, but still. I'm smarter than that.

"Lauren?"

"Four? What are you doing here?" I never did tell her my real name, I didn't tell anyone in high school.

"I live here.." I say, making it sound more like a question than an answer.

"In Oak Bluffs? Oh my god that it so funny, I'm living with my uncle over in Edgartown. Can you wait like 5 minutes until I'm off? Then we can catch up on things," she says with a wink and I swallow the lump in my throat and nod. I order my food and drink before sitting down next to a window, watching people pass by.

"I can't believe, you're in Oak Bluff. It's like fate!" Lauren squeals as she slides into the seat across from me.

"Yep. So how have you been?" I ask cautiously.

"Amazing, I love it here! Have you had someone show you around yet?" She asks as she twirls a strand of dark hair around her finger.

"Yes actually. My neighbor showed me most of it. Her and her brother have been great, they even gave me a job," I say. She frowns and pulls her finger out of her hair.

"Who's your neighbor?"

"Tris Prior, her brother's is Caleb."

"I've heard of her before, she plays piano in the park once a week during the summer. Do you want to take a walk?"

"Yeah, sure," I answer and we exit the shop and walk down Circuit Ave, my hands shoved into my pockets. Lauren and I walk for a little while, she talking about her brief experience in college before moving here with her uncle and me talking about my college expirence. Then I see a small blonde figure running towards us through the crowded sidewalk.

"Hey To- who's this?" She stops abruptly in front of us and eyes Lauren with suspicion.

"This is Lauren, we..uh..knew each other in high school," I say, not knowing why I didn't say girlfriend. Tris holds out her hand for Lauren to shake but still looks at her strangely.

"Tris," she says as Lauren shakes her hand loosely.

"Lauren, and for the record I was his girlfriend," Lauren says and side glances at me. I shrug and continue to look at Tris, who I now realize is in her softball uniform, dirty from a game she must have just played.

"I see," Tris says uncomfortably before turning to me, "We're all going out to the Look Out Taven tonight, it's a restraunt. Do you want to join us?" I'm about to say yes before Lauren answers for me.

"Actually, we were just going out somewhere," Lauren says and I give her a death glare but she doesn't seem to notice. Tris seems a bit dissapointed but just shrugs.

"Okay, some other time?" She says and waves before speed walking towards the direction of her house.

"Ugh, I know that girl. My cousin complains about her all the time," Lauren says disgusted.

"Who's your cousin?" I ask, curiously.

"Her name's Molly," she says. My jaw almost drops, remembering the girl at the countershop that Tris had said she hated and almost laugh at how ironic it is.

"Well, where should we go for dinner?" Lauren asks, a smug smile across her face.

We end up going to a restaurant called the Four Seasons. Lauren does most of the talking, but my heart's really not into the conversation; or the girl I'm having it with. For some reason, I can't stop thinking about Tris. From her crooked smiles to the dissapointed look she had when Lauren told her that she and I already made plans, was stuck in my mind and gave me a nauseous feeling every time I pictured her face.

I walk Lauren to where her car is parked as she continues to talk about something that I missed because I wasn't paying attention. As I watch and wave as Lauren drives off, I conclude that she hasn't changed at all from high school. She's still self-absorbed and she's still a bitch.

When I arrive at my house I just sit on my porch, exhausted. Hanging out with Lauren tonight, has made me think of high school and my past in Chicago, which ultimately puts me in a bad mood. Anything that has to do with Marcus puts me in a bad mood, thinking of that terrible man was revolting and high school wasn't any better. Hiding the bruises and pain of the whip lashes on my back every day wasn't fun, and even though I had great friends, a beautiful girlfriend and was the quarterback on the football team, it just didn't seem real or important.

My thoughts are interrupted by angry footsteps coming up the street. I look and see Tris is loose linen pants, sandals, and a colorful tank top walking at a brisk pace, a murderous look on her face, her blonde hair blowing in the light breeze. She runs up her porch steps and throws herself through the open door, with an angry slam behind her. Puzzled, I stand there for a minute not sure what to do, before heading up to my room and looking out of the window and into Tris' room. But she isn't there, and suddenly I hear soft music coming from above so I stick my head out the window and look up. It seems to be coming from Tris' roof but I can't see clearly but curiosity takes over me so I run over to Tris' house and make my way up to her bedroom. I find her skylight window that hangs over her bed open, with the music pouring out of it. I pull myself up through the window and find myself on the flat area of Tris' roof, and feel dizzied and breathless from the height. I've never been very find of them. I look over and see Tris with her head buried in her arms, wearing a pair of her brother's boxer shorts and a ratty, oversized t-shirt, with her hair cascading over her shoulders and back. She looks up at me puzzled.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, cocking her head.

"I could ask you the same," I say in between sharp breaths. She just rolls her eyes as I sit down next to her.

"It's my roof, and by the looks of it you're afraid of heights," she says with a smirk. I curse under my breath, which only proves that she's right.

"I just wanted to see what was wrong, you looked ready to kill somone a couple minutes ago. And your knuckles are starting to bruise," I say as I take her right hand lightly in mine as I examine the bruises starting to form on her bony knuckles. "What happened?"

"Peter happened," she says.

"Peter?"

"He's my ex-boyfriend, I despise him."

"What did he do?" I ask, and without thinking I scoot closer which just causes her to lean into my shoulder.

"I was walking home, and I passed his house and he was siting on his porch and when he saw me he stopped me. I think he was a little drunk, but he started calling me names and talking about my parents and other shit. I told him to shut his mouth and I called him a douche bag and tried to walk around him but he shoved me to the ground and I scraped my knees ," she says showing me the bloody cuts on her knees, "So, I punched him in the nose as hard as I could and then I ran home."

"Well, I'd ask you if wanted me to beat him up, but it sounds like you already did," I say. Tris just shoves me a little with her shoulder a smile growing on her face, but quickly disappearing.

"In all seriousness though, are you okay," I ask. She just shrugs and looks over to me.

"It's whatever, Peter's always awful to me, nothing new," she says.

"And you guys went out?" I ask, feeling oddly jealous. Instead of answering, the look on her face hardens but her eyes show curiosity.

"You know Tobias, we always talk about me. I barely know anything about you. Only you're a college drop out from Chicago and have a good taste in music. Tell me about yourself," she demands with her crooked smile. Damn that smile.

"Well what's your favorite color?" I chuckle and roll my eyes.

"Blue."

"That's so mainstream. Did you play any sports in highschool?"

"I played football, I was the quarterback," I tell her.

"Ugh, I hate high school football," she groans, "I can't believe _you _played football, especially the quarterback."

"What's wrong with football?" I ask deffensively, although I can't help laughing.

"It's so cliche and petty and so peppy. Don't get me wrong, I love football but high school football is infuriating," she says with a smile.

"We'll, then you're going to hate me because in high school, everyone called me Four because that was my jersey number," I say with a grin. Tris just groans and shakes her head which make me laugh.

"Tell me about your family, any siblings, what are your parents like?" She says causually. I tense up at the question, family isn't something I like to talk about.

"Um, no siblings and my mom left us when I was young and my dad and I didn't have the best relationship. We fought all the time, it wasn't a pretty sight," I say cautiously. Tris looks up at me with curious, narrowed eyes and then she grabs my hand and squeezes it.

"When you say you fought all the time," she says slowly, "Do you mean, that he hit you?" All of the air is sucked out of my lungs and I almost choke on the air I'm breathing.

"Wha- h-how d-did you know?" I say breathlessly. How the hell did she find out so easily? It's like she already knew, but just wanted to confirm her suspicions.

"I had a friend, he graduated last year, and before he moves in with his mom, his dad abused him. His name was Jordan. He acted the same way you did, and he told me that he and his dad 'fought' and then I figured that it was probably domestic violence," she says. I just look at her strangely, she says it like it's no big deal, no judgement or like it's no big surprise.

"You're brilliant you know that? I don't know how you figure something like that out after a couple days of knowing a person but you did it," I say in awe. She just shakes her head with a small smile.

"So, what's with this girl Lauren?" She says with a smirk and I groan, and we continue our conversation until we fall asleep on top of her roof.


	6. Chapter 6

Over the next week, Tris and I hang out everyday, after her school or on the weekends. Sometimes we hangout with her friends, which have become my friends too, but most of the time we just hang out in her room, on her roof, or on my porch usually listening to music and talking. We hung out at work too, which would usually get us yelled at by Caleb but Tris didn't really care. Sometimes I use Caleb's baseball mitt and we play catch with a softball in the park. Occasionally, Tris plays the piano for me, but that's only when she's in a bad mood and doesn't feel like talking so she just plays. She truly is an amazing pianist and taught herself most of the songs by Queen that she made me listen to. I have also learne that she despises rap music and mocks it on a daily basis, despite being a very good rapper herself.

Of all my 20 years of being alive, I've never had a friend like Tris and I've only known her for two weeks. She's so free and wild and unique and beautiful. She's so beautiful and she doesn't even know nor does she really care. It's refreshing to see so much natural beauty from an 18 year-old girl, usually they're styled up and wearing very slutty clothing but I haven't seen Tris wear an ounce of makeup and her clothes are modest. It took me a couple days to figure out what the butterflies in my stomach whenever I saw Tris meant, but I soon came to realize that I liked her. I was 20 years old and I had a crush on a high school student, my neighbor, my friend.

On Saturday morning, I sat on my porch with my phone up against my ear, annoyance bubbling inside me. I'm talking to Lauren, who still had my number from high school, and she wanted me to go out with her tonight. I can hear the faint music of a piano from next door, and all I really want to do is go see what Tris is playing.

"Lauren, I can't I've got work tonight."

"What time do you work until?"

"8:30."

"We can go after! Come on we can go to a bar or something like that," she said in her annoying, nasily voice.

"I told you, I've already got plans-"

"Don't tell me you've got plans with Tris. Come on Four, you've known her for like two weeks and she's younger than us. She's in high school! What are you going to do with her? Play a board game?" She tells me, and I can hear jealousy dripping from her voice. I'm about to respond when Tris bolts out of her house with a look of pure excitement on her face.

"I gotta go Lauren, the answer's still no," I say and quickly hang up before she can respond. Tris sees me on my porch and sprints over, and I notice she's only in plaid boxer shorts and a red t-shirt, her barefeet slapping against the pavement, her blonde hair in a tangled, wavy mess flowing down her back. Beautiful.

"Tobias! I finally got it! I got that damn song!" She says as she comes to a stop in front of me. I then remember her talking about teaching herself her favorite song by Queen, Don't Stop Me or something like that.

"The one you've been working on for weeks?" I ask with a smirk.

"Yes! Now come on you have to hear me play it!" She says and she grabs my hands and drags me over to her house. She sits on the piano bench and I plop myself next to her.

"Are you going to sing too?" I ask with hope. She just grimaces.

"I don't know if you want me too, I'm not very good," she says with a blush.

"None sense I've heard you before and you're great; now sing," I command and nudge her with my elbow. She gives me a grudging look before she starts to play.

_Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time_

_I feel alive and the world it's turning inside out Yeah!_

_I'm floating around in ecstasy_

_So don't stop me now don't stop me_

_'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time_

_I'm a shooting star leaping through the skies_

_Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity_

_I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva_

_I'm gonna go go go_

_There's no stopping me_

_I'm burning through the sky yeah!_

_Two hundred degrees_

_That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_

_I'm trav'ling at the speed of light_

_I wanna make a supersonic man out of you_

_Don't stop me now_

_I'm having such a good time_

_I'm having a ball_

_Don't stop me now_

_If you wanna have a good time_

_Just give me a call_

_Don't stop me now ('cause I'm having a good time)_

_Don't stop me now (yes I'm having a good time)_

_I don't want to stop at all... yeah!_

_I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars_

_On a collision course_

_I am a satellite I'm out of control_

_I am a sex machine ready to reload_

_Like an atom bomb about to_

_Oh oh oh oh oh explode_

_I'm burning through the sky Yeah!_

_Two hundred degrees_

_That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_

_I'm trav'ling at the speed of light_

_I wanna make a supersonic woman of you_

_Don't stop me_

_Don't stop me_

_Don't stop me_

_Hey hey hey!_

_Don't stop me_

_Don't stop me_

_Ooh ooh ooh (I like it)_

_Don't stop me_

_Don't stop me_

_Have a good time, good time_

_Don't stop me_

_Don't stop me_

_Ooh ooh alright_

_Ooh I'm burning through the sky yeah!_

_Two hundred degrees_

_That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit_

_I'm trav'ling at the speed of light_

_I wanna make a supersonic man out of you_

_Don't stop me now_

_I'm having such a good time_

_I'm having a ball_

_Don't stop me now_

_If you wanna have a good time_

_Just give me a call_

_Don't stop me now ('cause I'm having a good time)_

_Don't stop me now (yes I'm having a good time)_

_I don't wanna stop at all_

_La la la la laaaa_

_La la la la_

_La la laa laa laa laaa_

_La la laa la la la la la laaa._

Her fingers glide over the keys with grace and speed. Her eyes are closed as she sings out the lyrics she knows by heart; beautifully I might add. She's absolutely amazing, singing that old rock song as her expert fingers fly over the keys and play each note perfectly. I feel my lips form a huge smile as I listen to the girl in love with music play and sing her heart out. And when she finishes and takes a deep breath, I know I'm grinning like an idiot. I know that I'm in love. I've fallen fast and hard.

"So," she says in between breaths, "What do you think?" I just raise an eyebrow, remembering a lyric of the song.

"Sex machine huh?" I say with a smirk. Tris' eyes glitter but her lips from a small frown and her eyebrows furrow. I'm about to apologize, thinking I've offended her, when she grabs my face with her hands and crashes her lips to mine. I'm startled at first but once I get a grip on what's happening, I kiss back, hard and passionately. I feel electricity and fire pumping through my veins as the lyrics of that damn song play over in my head. My hands travel to her slim waist and I wrap one arm around her stomach. She moves her hands that were resting lightly in my cheeks to around my neck and entangles her pianist fingers in my hair. Our lips move with passion, and I taste the bittersweet flavor of the coffee she must have been drinking this morning. She smells like an ocean breeze, crisp and refreshing. We finally pull away, lips swollen and breathing heavy, but both with glints in our eyes. Tris looks up at me and smiles her crooked smile.

"I am a sex machine," she says quoting the song mockingly, "Ready to reload." I just grin like an idiot and chuckle as she leans her head into my chest, with a smile.

"You're amazing," I say.

"At the piano?" She mumbles, her words muffled by my shirt.

"No," I say, "Just in general." She looks up at me with a disbelieving raised eyebrow. I grinn.

"Way better than Lauren," I say as Tris laughs and turns to play me another song on her piano.

* * *

**If you haven't heard the song Don't Stop Me Now by Queen, then you should really look it up because it's a great song.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Tris POV**

"Why do you look so happy? Tris Prior are you high?" Christina says as she slides into the chair across from me at a coffee shop on Circuit Ave.

"Christina, why do you always think I'm high? It was one time Chris, one time! And it was with Jordan and he's like a white Bob Marley; he smoked all the time." Christina just laughs and smiles, but then frowns a bit.

"Have you talked to Jordan lately? Do you know how college is going?"

"Yeah, last week. He says it's great and that he misses all of us. He's got a new girlfriend too, says she's super hot," I say with an eye roll and a smile.

"Aww, I miss him. You guys were so cute too, I swear when you guys broke up because he was going to college I think I was more dissapointed then you guys were! How many times did you guys have sex again?" She asks, rather loudly which causes some people to look our way. I feel my cheeks burning and I cover Christina's mouth with my hand.

"Yell a little louder why don't you? I don't think China heard you! And it was only twice and it was right after my parents died and the second time we were drunk, so chill out!" I whisper-yell. She licks my hand and I pull it away and wipe it on her shirt which earns me an angry glare.

"Fine. Now tell me why you look so happy. It's nauseating," She says with excitement. I just put my head in my hands and feel my cheeks go red.

"I may or may not have kissed my neighbor last night," I mumble and look up at Christina who has her jaw hanging down to the floor. She shuts and gives me a wide smile.

"Way to go Prior! God, kissing an older boy, smoking weed, sex with a college boy; You just can't be tamed! Was he a good kisser?" She asks.

"He's only two years older than me, I've only smoke once, and Jordan wasn't in college at the time so shut up," I say sternly but then smile and bite my lip, "And he was an excellent kisser." Christina squeals excitedly before I roll my eyes and go wait in the line to get a coffee.

I shove my hands in my pockets and hum a nameless song, thinking about last night with a small smile. Tobias and I aren't dating, it was just one simple kiss. With that in mind, it was the best kiss I had ever had in my life. Besides Peter, which I don't even count, my only other boyfriend was Jordan and I did love him, I still do, and he was a great kisser, but with Tobias I saw the cliche fireworks going off in my head as we kissed. It was absolutely insane and spontaneous and I loved it.

I'm interrupted by my thoughts as I feel an unfriendly shove to my shoulder and turn around to see a smirking Molly her arms crossed over her chest with a challenging look across her face.

"What's wrong Prior? Too busy thinking about your stupid neighbor?" She snarls. I narrow my eyes at her.

"Piss off Molly, and mind your own damn business," I say with a scowl.

"Whatever Prior, you're not worth my time. I hope your uncle feels better by the way, heard he wasn't doing so good," she says with mock simpathy. With that she turns on her heels and exits the coffee shop, one of her stupid friends following her out. I hear Christina walk over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"How did she know about your uncle?" She asks softly. I shrug.

"Her dad and him are friends, they went to highschool together. They probably still keep in touch," I say.

"I don't really want coffee any more," Christina says changing the subject, "Lets go shopping instead." I shake my head and groan but reluctantly follow Christina out the door.

We make our way up and down the streets, stopping at all of the stores that Christina loves. She tries on dresses, jeans, shirts, shoes, bathing suits; everything. She buys most of it too, using all of the money she's saved up from working a Divergent. Shopping with Christina is a piece of work, she wants to stop at every store and try on everything. She usually makes me try on things too, and most of the time I reject them because Christina's clothes are very revealing and stylish and definitely not my style. Chris likes to describe what I wear as 'hippie clothes': Loose pants, colorful tank tops, boy friend jeans and Birkenstock sandals and the weaved leather bracelets I like from Third World Trading Co. on Circuit Ave. She calls me a hippy and I call her a slut, it works out rather well, and at least my clothes are comfortable. Occasionally I drag Christina into some of the stores that I always shop at and I actually end up buying a bathing suit and a navy blue Martha's Vineyard sweatshirt that I've been meaning to get for Tobias. Christina and I end up stopping at a sandwhich shop for lunch where we see Uriah and Marlene sitting at a table together.

"Hey guys," I say as we sit down across from them.

"Did you know that Stiff over here had _sex _with Jordan _twice_," Christina says with a grin. Their eyes bulge and I groan and put my head in my hands, blood rushing to my cheeks.

"Did you really Tris?" Marlene asks while Uriah pats me on the back.

"It was after my parents died and the other time it was the night of his prom and we were drunk. Can we please not talk about it while I eat lunch?" I plead. They laugh but continue to ask questions which I refuse to answer; my sex life with Jordan is not something I'm proud of and definitely not something I want to talk about.

"You guys want to go down to the park and toss the frisbee around?" I ask after lunch. They agree and we walk over to the toy store and buy a cheap frisbee before racing to the park, kicking off our shoes, and pass the frisbee to each other in the lush green grass, loving life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Tobias POV**

On Thursday, I was sitting on my porch like I usually do after I came home from work. Since it was a Thursday night, it had been slow and Caleb wasn't in a good mood so he told everyone to go home and be closed the place early. The weird thing was, Tris wasn't at work, and when I asked Caleb about he just got a sad look on his face and just shrugged the question off. I can hear the sounds of Tris' piano coming from next door, so that either means she's either practicing or she's in a bad mood, I suspect it's the latter. Suddenly I hear the angry slam of the piano keys and a crash, with muffled curse words following. I hear Caleb yelling something, but I can't quite make it out. I then hear soft music coming from above me, meaning that Tris is on her roof, upset.

Sighing, I get up from my rocking chair and walk over to the Priors and knock on the door. Caleb opens up the door and I'm taken aback by his appearance. His green eyes are bloodshot and tired. His brown hair is tussled and he's holding a beer bottle in his right hand. He takes a deep breath when he sees me and runs his other hand through his hair.

"She's on her roof," he says before letting me inside and then sitting on the piano bench, staring blankly at the black and white keys. I notice a broken vase on the floor next to the piano, with a Caleb not even acknowledging the broken glass around him. Puzzled, I climb the stairs and walk into Tris' room to find the skylight window wide open. I take a deep breath and lift myself onto the roof where a blast of chilling evening air hits my face. Tris is lying on her back looking up at the sky colorful from the setting sun. Her hair is fanning out around her head, her eyes are clouded and there are tears rolling down her cheeks. I crawl over to where she's laying and lie down next to her so our arms are pressed against each other. She doesn't look sad, just angry and lost and hopeless.

"Hey," I say softly, turning my head to look at her.

"My uncle died," she says, eyes still fixed on the colorful sky. I take a deep breath, but I don't say anything.

"He was coming in a couple weeks for my graduation, he was like my second dad. He was so young, he had kids and a wife, and my poor grandparents; they've lost both their sons in a four years," she says, her voice choked with loss and ache. I remain silent, trying to come up with words that aren't complete bullshit like 'I'm sorry for your loss.' So, I don't say anything; I've never been good at comforting people. I take her hand in mine and we just lay there, watching the colorful sky slowly fade to an inky dark blue, while the moon and the stars come out.

"Was his death sudden, or had he been sick?" I finally ask softly. She sniffles and leans her head on my shoulder.

"He had leukemia, we knew it was coming but it still sucks," She says. I nod and we remain silent for a couple more minutes.

"What song were you playing earlier? I could hear you on my porch," I ask turning my head to look at her. She smiles slightly as she continues to look at the stars.

"Hallelujah, you know the one from Shrek, it was my uncle's favorite but I couldn't figure out the last part and I guess I just got fusturated, lost control for a moment," she says, referring to the angry slam of the keys and most likely the broken vase.

"Is the broken vase you too?" I ask with a small smirk. She wipes the tears off her face with the back of her hand and lightly smiles.

"No, that was Caleb. It was on accident I think but notice how he didn't bother picking it up." I chuckle and turn my attention back to the sky, now filled with stars. Tris starts pointing our different constellations and I tell her the story of Orion the Hunter -my favorite constellation- which I'm pretty sure she already knows but she doesn't say anything. After awhile, she falls asleep so I carry her down off her roof and into her bed, where she lies peacefully, the tear stains still visible on her cheeks.

"Goodnight, Tris," I say softly before lightly kissing her temple and making my way down stairs. I'm met with Caleb playing a soft song on the piano and he mouths a 'thank you' as I head out the front door. I walk into my house and upstairs to my room. I look out the window to see Tris looking out hers. I wave and smile to her and she waves back before climbing back into her bed.

I do the same.


End file.
